Saturday photo

A burst of vibrant colors all day... every day - these days!

These days, my source of daily joy has increased in number.  As I look out of my window at our little house's receiving area while waiting for the kettle to whistle its announcement that it's ready to make coffee, I cannot help but smile as I see our fabulous Melendres plant through the sheer curtains.  The Melendres plant is a shrub that is usually referred to as the 'cherry blossoms of the Philippines'.  The round cherry-like pods of the plant turn brown by the month of April or May before bursting into colorful little flowers.  The beautiful red and bright pink flowers lined with sharp white color around their velvety petals seem to give a cheerful greeting as the plant sways gracefully with the gentle morning breeze.  It's like a

Seeing beauty through the window.

scene from animated movies for kids where every living thing around speaks merrily with the main character.  I cannot help but breathe "good morning" to our Melendres plant... and all our other plants, which are, uhm, a lot!   

In the afternoon, when I return from work, a few meters from our house, the vibrant burst of colors dangling out of our fence, swaying prettily, seems to greet me some meters from our house.  Butterflies and singing birds seem to dance with the flowers amid the equally vibrant colors of sunset... and it is, indeed, a scene to behold.  It seems to remind me of God's blessings everyday, and this, while very beautiful and joyful that it fills the soul with much amazement, is just one of the 'smallest' of blessings in the grand scheme of things where God is at the center.  It gives the most organic reason to stay still for a few minutes and cherish the many blessings of the day, and thank God for it all, through the Angelus at dusk. No wonder that Angelus is my late father's favorite prayer, and praying it was a practice that, I observed, was handed to him by my grandparents, and their parents before that.  I remember growing up watching my paternal grandmother light the candles at our altar, and gathered us around the altar as she led in praying the Angelus... and then the Rosary. 

These days, I am beginning to believe that letting one's self to be lost in admiration of the beauty of nature and paying homage to its Creator is prayer in itself. And, these days, it's the kind of prayer that I most enjoy.  I thank God for this opportunity to be in this phase in my life, and in the place where I am, to experience this daily sustenance of the soul.  Life is, indeed, beautiful; and God is, indeed, good... all the time!

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Image credit:  The featured photos in this post belong to me.  I took all of them.

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Wednesday Nostalgia...

...on the 78th Foundation Anniversary of PAEF.

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by PAM

 

Reconnecting with friends and fellow Fulbright Scholars and Humphrey Fellows under PAEF, Inc.
Among them are: Hon. Shirley Agrupis, Ph.D. (Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education), Tony Lambino, Ph.D. (President, Ayala Foundation, Inc.) and Karol Mark Yee, Ph.D. (Executive Director of EDCOM 2).

I have a feeling that the 24th day of March in the year 2026 will be etched in my mind... and heart, and shall be remembered with much fondness, indeed, for a long time.  I participated in the celebration of the 78th anniversary of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF) - the Fulbright Commission in the Philippines.  

It was a joyful and quite emotional occasion for me.  So many memories - very good ones, came rushing in, and it was overwhelming.  I received a Fulbright Scholarship under the Fulbright-Philippine Agriculture Scholarship Program (FPASP) in 2002 to study for my Ph.D. degree at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA.  The FPASP gave me a very generous five-year scholarship, and I am forever grateful.  The experience was, indeed, life-changing - to say the least.  It opened so many doors of opportunities for me... as well as my loved ones, and the Institution that I now serve.  I returned to the Philippines (and to the University of Santo Tomas, or "UST") in 2007 where I became the 2nd woman Dean of the first Engineering School in the Philippines, the UST Faculty of Engineering, in November 2012.  I served in this capacity for nearly one decade, which were some of the best and most productive years of my life.  I will let history account the ups and downs, and the tremendous gains of the Faculty in those years that now became a 'norm' in its daily pursuits.  For these rare opportunities, I am, indeed, grateful to God.

In Academic Year (AY) 2021-2022, I became a recipient of the Hubert H. Humphrey (HHH) Fellowship, also under PAEF.  As a Humphrey Fellow, I spent nearly a year at the Pennsylvania State University ("Penn State") where I held my local Professional Affiliation (PA) at their Innovation Park at Penn State.  It also gave me the opportunity to return to Cornell for my non-local PA and work with former professors and colleagues for six weeks.  I also got to spend another six weeks at the Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, specifically at their Engineering Innovation Studio.  That gave me the opportunity to take a step back after a tremendous ride as Dean of UST Faculty of Engineering... and determine my next 'mission', especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.  In 2022, I returned to UST to lead the newly launched "Office of the Assistant to the Rector for UST Santa Rosa".  Four years later, we have reached milestone after milestone... and I am very grateful to God.

PAEF's March 24, 2026 event has given me the opportunity to take stack of the highlights of my professional and personal journey since the day I became a Fulbright Scholar for the first time in 2002, joining the likes of Tony Lambino that year, who is now the President of the Ayala Foundation, Inc., among others.  And, in 2021, after a grueling screening process, I was chosen by PAEF's Selection Committee to become one of the five nominees of the Philippines for a Humphrey Fellowship.  A few weeks later, in a world competition at the Washington, D.C., I emerged as one of the two Filipinos chosen by Washington, D.C. to finally receive the Humphrey Fellowship for AY 2021-2022. It felt extremely surreal that time.  I don't think I have gotten over the thrill of receiving that good news.

I am not sure if I have done enough to deserve the honor of being a two-time PAEF scholarship recipient.  I am certainly been trying very hard.  Some days I feel that, perhaps, I should spread my wings wider and try a different avenue, and see how else I can serve my country and the world in a way that befits the honor and recognition that I received from PAEF, the Philippine government, and the USA.  These days, I feel that this contemplation is turning the tide... and I cannot wait what awaits me elsewhere.  I give my full trust to the Lord, and I surrender all the days of my life to Him and in service to Him.

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Image credit:  All photos in this post belong to me.

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Sunday Contemplation #1: 'God's contented sigh'...

...through His creations.

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by PAM

First...

So, today, on the last Sunday of March 2025, I begin a new category in this blog: "Sunday Contemplation".  Actually, this is nothing new in this blog as I have posted many 'contemplative pieces' in the past such as this and this.  I have been realizing that, these days, most of my posts end up as a form of contemplation.  I guess it goes with age; as well as my current circumstance where I have the opportunity to enjoy solitude, which evokes contemplation.  More so the former, I do believe.  Age, I am beginning to discover, is a 'being' of its own.  The closer we get to 'old age', the voice of the being becomes louder... at times, deafening.  But when it is calm and serene, it does evoke contemplation and meaningful reflections... and life's deeper meaning emerges from the soul, acknowledged by the mind as logical and valid... and felt to the core of the heart in unison with the mind.  I believe that is called wisdom.  And this is my motivation in starting a new category in this blog today.        

So, here we go...     

It's like listening to God sighing with such contentment as the day comes to a close...

...through the leaves of the trees.

I find summertime at my new workplace and in my new second home so fascinating.  The trees have regained their crowning glory!  They are now covered with lush green leaves - so beautiful!  The Narra trees are particularly beautiful because of their cheerful yellow flowers, making a dramatic appearance in thick bunches.  In the afternoon, when the wind exceeds its usual mere 'whisper' all day, the yellow petals of the flowers give in to the coaxing of the wind and allow themselves to flow with the wind.  As the wind let them go, the petals drop gracefully to the ground to perch themselves on the tip of the grasses below, transforming the bed of grass into a sea of bright yellow petals - it's just beautiful.

The natural transformation around me these days inspires contemplation... making solitude all the more delectable and enjoyable.  That intangible dimension of mind and the soul are woven together in perfect harmony by the natural beauty around me, making imagination and wonder dance with such grace and power that it lifts the being to that unimaginable realm of beauty, making the intangible dimension so real and seem palpable.     

Uhm, no... there is nothing that anyone could ever say that can convince me that life in Metro-Manila is better than the life I am leading in this new place... even when challenges from the 'practical matters' of living abound.  People talk about living sustainably, 'going back to basics', and all that blah in Metro-Manila.  And yet, not so many of them can imagine leaving that stinky urban jungle, where every corner hides a secret... many of which are so dark, others so lurid - at the very least, so inconsistent with how God intended human beings to live.  

I close my eyes... and I let my ear be filled by the sound of God's sigh of contentment - through the leaves of the trees that seem to murmur gleefully with the gentle summer wind, and the birds and other insects - flying, leaping, crawling freely and, I imagine, happily.  And all the sights and sounds fill my heart with so much joy, peace of mind and, yes, merry contentment!  

Thanks for this opportunity to live this way... thanks be to God!

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Video credit:  The video featured in this entry is mine.  

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Saturday Photo

 

'The best things in life are free...'
Nature's unadulterated colors are simply the most naturally breath-taking.

These days, I feel that I am on my way to striking a balance between life and work... with life gaining a bit more of its lost ground to work in the past years.  This is because I am spending more and more time in my 'second home' - close to my 'new work assignment'.  

Traffic is almost of zero consequence here in my 'second home'.  Although the distance between my 'primary home' and my 'older workplace' (I have two offices) in Metro-Manila is almost the same as the distance between my 'second home' and my 'new work place', the time I spend in traffic these days is nothing compared to the traffic that I endure when I am in Metro-Manila.  I can leave home 15-20 minutes before my call time at my 'new workplace', and make it there on time, unhurriedly.  The same when I go home, I only need about 15 minutes to reach home.  In Metro-Manila, I allot 1 to 1.5 hours for traffic on my way to work, depending on the time of day.  In the afternoon/evening, when I go home, travel time is usually 1.5 to 2 hours even when I leave my workplace at 8:00 in the evening!  It has become so ridiculous and senseless to live in Metro-Manila, especially if there is a better option.   

So, these days, I have time to sit by the patio, take a deep breath, read a little bit (that's leisure reading, mind you!) while JungKook sings in the background, and take notice of and appreciate how beautiful the skies are in this part of the world... well, my entire surrounding actually.  Time affords me this 'luxury', and this new place affords me time without sacrificing the comforts and convenience of an ultra-modern life... and I am, indeed, grateful. 🙏

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Image credit:  The photo above belongs to me, I took it.

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Saturday Photo(s)

 

Having so much fun in the thick of preparations at the construction site for the

UST-Dr. William T. Belo Interdisciplinary Research Institute (UST-WiTBIRIn)

in the campus of the University of Santa Tomas in the City of Santa Rosa, Province of Laguna.

 

These past days, one can say that, yes, I am 'in my element'.  Finally, the 'boring' phase of my 'new job' has dissipated, and now, my Team is entering a zone where we all can be 'in the zone', indeed!  Construction of the second building in our new campus is about to go on 'full swing'. And I hope that before we're done constructing it, we would be ready to begin the third... and the fourth after that... and the fifth... and so on - I hope. We have five years to build the 'necessary buildings', and 15 years or so to develop the campus in its 'first iteration'.

I often enjoy the 'planning stage' of any project, or any 'mission', especially when it is a pioneering endeavor.  So, naturally, when our Office was created just two years ago upon my return from my one-year Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship at Penn State University, Cornell University and Boise State University, I had a great time thinking, researching and talking to many people, planning, designing, and building the foundation of our Office, which begins from building the Team ... and hoping and dreaming of the best outcomes - dreaming mostly. 

One of the things that I love about this process is meeting like-minded people, and more so, people of very little to zero faith in what our 'mission' is about.  The former reinforce our courage to keep believing and diving into the unknown, and the latter, serve as reminders to persevere and keep the faith if good results have to be had.  In our current construction project, there are a few 'non-believers'.  Unfortunately, they are the most exasperating ones... so, it has been very, very tough, indeed.  It was so mightily boring to spend so much time and effort to make them see things from a different perspective, and to acknowledge that there are other ways of accomplishing things. Just because a method is 'tried and tested' does not mean that it can be applied on all things and in all situations. And that a 'seat of authority' is not always a seat of infallibility.  In many cases, it is a seat that allows one to serve better and to serve more people.  Very fortunately, I do have an incredible Team... they make me feel that not every battle is mine to fight... or fight alone.  So, yep, I am lovin' my Team, and I am lovin' our pace despite the challenges!  And when we do occasionally achieve something significant, we remind ourselves that we can see many wonderful things from our vantage point only because we 'stand on the shoulders of giants'. 

So, this week, our current construction project, the UST-Dr. William T. Belo Interdisciplinary Research Institute (UST-WiTBIRIn), reached a milestone.  And we are, indeed, very happy and absolutely grateful.  Faith, perseverance and teamwork do pay off.   And, I am celebrating here through The Script's music, "Hall of Fame" just like how the namesake of the building that we are constructing (the 'giant' on whose shoulders we stand, in this case) is in our UST Engineering Hall of Fame...

"Yeah, do it for your people, do it for your pride.

Are you ever gonna know if you never even try?"

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Image credit:  The photos in the collage were borrowed from colleagues and used here with their permission - thanks.

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Saturday photo(s)

The dramatic skies and the lush vegetation

in my 'second home' and in my 'other' new workplace.

These days, I am getting used to waking up in the morning with the view of the skies about to let go of of the gray colors of dawn in anticipation of the arrival of sunrise.  It's such a beautiful scene... that sometimes, I stay transfixed on my bed staring at the scene in the window by my bed with nothing but the sound of my own breath and the happy chirping of the birds - so serene... until the sun finally burst in the horizon, slowly makes its way to the sky, brightening and intensifying the hues of the colorful surroundings, slowly spreading its fingers on the green, green grass visible in the opposite window until the last drop of mist disappears into the thinning air.  I cannot help but be filled with awe... and, everytime, it makes me wonder what magnificent luck life is about to reveal to me in the horizon of the day that just began.  Such wonderment puts a spring on my strides... and I go about my day with such excitement amid the serenity around me. 

The sky as it welcomes the sun
at sunrise - viewed from my bed
through my window

The trip from my new (second) home to my workplace is about 6km but I am, usually, able to cover the distance in only 10 minutes or so, regardless of the time of day... usually, it just takes two BTS songs.  From my new workplace, I am getting used to switching off my work gadgets as the air gently sways outside, making the branches of the seemingly countless trees and thick bushes around the building sway rhythmically as the chirping of the birds heightens, and the sound of crickets slowly blend in.  I make my way out of the building where I work while the skies make play of its fast-changing colors... from blue to various shades of orange as the sun makes its way into the depth of the horizon... or red, if the skies are generous enough to promise a beautiful day by the next sunrise.

My new workplace will be the seat of the 'highest' of high-technology to be developed by Thomasian scientists and innovators in the future.  It will be a buzzling place for interdisciplinary research for my University with its partners and stakeholders.  As we have a highly comprehensive University, just thinking about the extent of interdisciplinarity of our research and innovation activities in the future graces my imagination with a bonfire of ideas - very exhilarating!  But, of course, I make effort to rein in the excitement lest I resort to 'counting the chicks before the eggs hatch'.  So, I continue to work hard and persevere with my awesome Team in transforming that vast space that we have into what the future needs.

One day... nature and technology shall come together in a beautiful harmony that attempts to sketch God's generosity and wisdom.  The attempt shall fail, of course, as God's generosity and wisdom are boundless, and our attempt is merely to narrowly estimate... but the attempt shall be our way of expressing gratitude... and commitment to keep trying as we make ourselves worthy of, one day, seeing God's kingdom where the true beautiful harmony can be experienced... and not just estimated.  

Until then, we dream, we persevere... and we bask in the beauty of the experience.

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Image credit:  All the photos in the collage above and the individual photos belong to me.  I took them all.